Image forming apparatus, image forming method, and image forming system with decolorable printing and non-decolorable printing

ABSTRACT

An image forming apparatus includes a printer, an interface through which print data includes at least one of a first setting to form a first image with a decolorable colorant and a second setting to form a second image with a non-decolorable colorant, and a controller that determines whether the print data includes a layout setting to form a plurality of images on a sheet. If the print data includes the layout setting and only one of the first and the second setting, the printer forms the images with a corresponding one of the decolorable colorant and the non-decolorable colorant on the sheet based on the layout setting. If the print data includes the layout setting, the first setting and the second setting, the printer forms each of the first image and the second image on different sheets.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJP application No. 2014-212955, filed on Oct. 17, 2014, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate to an image forming apparatus, imageforming method and image forming system forming an image on the basis ofreceived print data.

BACKGROUND

An image forming apparatus capable of printing images with a decolorablecolorant (decolorable printing) and printing images with anon-decolorable colorant (non-decolorable printing) is known.

The image forming apparatus receives a print job (print data) from animage processing apparatus such as a personal computer and the like, andforms an image. The print job includes print settings selected by a uservia printer driver at the image processing apparatus.

The decolorable printing is enables a printed sheet to be reused.However, if the image forming apparatus prints an image with thedecolorable colorant on one side of a sheet and another image with thenon-decolorable colorant on other side of the same sheet, the printedsheet may not be reused for duplex printing.

Thus, if a single print job includes both a decolorable printinginstruction and a non-decolorable printing instruction, it would bedesirable to avoid the situation described above so that the reusabilityof sheets is not affected.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a hardware block diagram showing the configuration of aprinting system including an image forming apparatus and an imageprocessing apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing the configuration of the imageforming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a setting screen of a printer driver program executedby the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment,before pages for decolorable printing are set.

FIG. 4 is an example of a setting screen for setting pages fordecolorable printing according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is another example of a setting screen for setting pages fordecolorable printing according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates the setting screen of the printer driver programexecuted by the image processing apparatus according to the firstembodiment, after pages for decolorable printing are set.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of one example of an imageforming process carried out by the image forming apparatus, according tothe first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of another example of an imageforming process carried out by the image forming apparatus, according tothe first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of an image forming processcarried out by the image forming apparatus, according to a secondembodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of an image forming processcarried out by the image forming apparatus, according to a thirdembodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of an image forming processcarried out by the image forming apparatus, according to a fourthembodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of an image forming processcarried out by the image forming apparatus, according to a fifthembodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of an image forming processcarried out by the image forming apparatus, according to a sixthembodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of an image forming processcarried out by the image forming apparatus, according to an eighthembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with one embodiment, an image forming apparatus comprisesa printer that forms an image on a sheet, an interface though whichprint data which includes at least one of a first setting and a secondsetting, is received, the first setting being a setting to form a firstimage with a decolorable colorant and the second setting being a settingto form a second image with a non-decolorable colorant, and a controllerconfigured to determine whether the received print data includes alayout setting to form a plurality of images on a sheet. If the printdata includes the layout setting and only one of the first setting andthe second setting, the controller causes the printer to form the imageswith a corresponding one of the decolorable colorant and thenon-decolorable colorant on the sheet based on the layout setting. Ifthe print data includes the layout setting and both the first settingand the second setting, the controller causes the printer to form eachof the first image and the second image on different sheets.Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to thedrawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a hardware block diagram showing the configuration of aprinting system according to the present embodiment. The printing systemincludes an image processing apparatus 1 and an image forming apparatus2 a (MFP: Multi Function Peripheral). The image processing apparatus 1and the image forming apparatus 2 a are connected via a wired orwireless communication network N such as LAN (Local Area Network), Wi-Fi(Wireless Fidelity) and the like.

The image processing apparatus 1 sends a print job (print data) to theimage forming apparatus 2 a via the communication network N. The imageforming apparatus 2 a executes a print processing according to aninstruction included in the received print job.

The image processing apparatus 1 is a network terminal such as PC(Personal Computer), mobile terminal like a smartphone and the like. Theimage processing apparatus 1 includes, for example, the followinghardware elements: an input device 101, an input interface (I/F) 102, adisplay 103, a dispray I/F 104, a controller 105, a storage device 106and a communications I/F 107.

The input device 101 is, for example, a keybord, a mouse, a touch panel,a touchpad, a graphics tablet, or dedicated buttons. The input device101 receives a user operation input and generates a signal based on theuser operation input.

The input I/F 102 transfers the signals from the input device 101 to thecontroller 105.

The display 103 is, for example, an electronic paper, LCD (Liquidcrystal display), EL (Electronic Luminescence), PDP (Plasma DisplayPanel), CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), or the like. A part or the entirety ofthe functions of the input device 101 and the display 103 may beimplemented as a touch panel display.

The display I/F 104 transfers a display control signal based onprocessing by the controller to the display 103.

The controller 105 executes various processes of the image processingapparatus 1 such as, for example, arithmetic and logic processing,display control processing, print job processing, and the like. Thecontroller 105 includes, for example, a processor 105 a and a memory 105b. The memory 105 b is, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM(Random Access Memory), or the like.

The controller 105 executes various processes by executing programsstored in the memory 105 b. In addition, the processor 105 a may be aCPU (Central Processing Unit) or a MPU (Micro Processing Unit).Furthermore, a part or all the functions of the controller 105 may beimplemented as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

The storage device 106 is, for example, HDD (Hard Disk Drive), flashmemory, or the like. The storage device 106 stores, for example, anapplication program 106 a, a printer driver 106 b, an operating system106 c, and various other information and data. The application program106 a includes general software and web applications. The printer driver106 b operates as software component of the operating system 106 c andgenerates a print job to be sent to the image forming apparatus 2 abased on a print instruction from the application program 106 a.

A setting screen of the printer driver 106 b executed by the controller105 is displayed, for example, on the display 103 of the imageprocessing apparatus 1.

The communications I/F 107 serves as an interface of communicationprocessing for the image processing apparatus 1 with the image formingapparatus 2 a. The communications I/F 107 commmunicates with the imageforming apparatus 2 a via an interactive wired or wireless interfacesuch as Bluetooth®, IEEE802.15, IEEE802.11, IEEE802.3, or IEEE1284, andvia an infrared communication or optical communication. Furthermore, thecommunications I/F 107 may includes a USB interface or a parallelinterface. The controller 105 communicates with the image formingapparatus 2 a, USB device, an external device, and the like via thecommunications I/F 107.

Next, the image forming apparatus 2 a will be described. The imageforming apparatus 2 a includes, for example, a communications I/F 201,an operating panel 202, a scanner 203, a printer 204, a controller 205,a storage device 206, a FCU (Facsimile Control Unit), and the like.

The communications I/F 201 serves as an interface of communicationprocessing for the image forming apparatus 2 a with the image processingapparatus 1. The communications I/F 201 commmunicates with the imageprocessing apparatus 1 via an interactive wired or wireless interfacesuch as Bluetooth®, IEEE802.15, IEEE802.11, IEEE802.3, or IEEE1284, andvia an infrared communication or optical communication. Furthermore, thecommunications I/F 201 may includes a USB interface or a parallelinterface. The controller 205 communicates with the image processingapparatus 2 a, USB device, an external device, and the like via thecommunications I/F 201.

The operating panel 202 receives a user operation input and generates asignal based on the user operation input. The operating panel 202 has atouch-screen as a display 202 a and an operation key 202 b. Theoperation key 202 b includes, for example, a numeric keypad, a resetkey, a stop key, a start key, and the like. The display 202 a displays avariety of items to be set, for example, a print condition such as aprint sheet size, a number of copies, a density, a finishing (staplingor holding), and the like. The instructions of the displayed items willbe inputted via the display 202 a.

The scanner 203 includes a scanning unit reading an original as animage, a platen plate, and an automatic document feeder feeding theoriginal to a reading position. The scanning unit of the scanner readsthe image of the original set on the platen plate or the automaticdocument feeder.

The printer 204 forms an image corresponding to the image of theoriginal read by the scanner 203 or an image corresponding to an imagedata sent from the image processing apparatus 1 on a sheet. The printer204 includes a printer 2041 a and printer 2042 a.

The printer 2041 a serves as an image forming device capable of formingan image (decolorable printing) with a decolorable colorant (decolorablematerial) which can be decolored or become colorless. Here, thedecolorable colorant is a toner or ink which can be decolored or becomecolorless when it is heated to a predetermined temperature, for example,a dye such as a leuco dye. Alternatively, the decolorable colorant maybe a material which can be decolored by use of a chemical or by beingsubjected to light. In addition, the decoloring in the presentembodiment is not limited to a decoloring process in which thedecolorant is decolored by a chemical reaction. The decoloring processmay include scraping physically an image on a sheet.

Furthermore, the decoloring in the present embodiment refers to makingthe image (which is formed in a color including not only chromaticcolors but also monochromatic color such as white color, black color andthe like) that has a color that is different from the background colorof the paper, not visible or hard to see. Herein, making the image notvisible may include changing the image that has been formed in a colordifferent from the background color of the paper to a color which is thesame as or approximately the same as the background color of the paper.

The printer 2042 a serves as an image forming device capable of formingan image (non-decolorable printing) with a non-decolorable colorantwhich cannot be decolored or become colorless. Here, the non-decolorablecolorant (material), unlike the above-described decolorable colorant,maintains its color even after it is heated or used chemical orsubjected to light.

The controller 205 carries out various processes of the image formingapparatus 2 a such as, for example, an arithmetic and logic processing,a display control processing, processing of a print job, a printprocessing, a sheet conveying processing, and the like. The controller205 includes, for example, a processor 205 a and a memory 205 b. Theprocessor 205 a may be a CPU or an MPU and the memory 205 b may includea ROM, RAM, and the like.

The controller 205 also has a role in executing various functions byexecuting a program read from the storage device 206 and stored in thememory 205 b. The controller 205 controls the operating panel 202, thescanner 203, the printer 2041 a, 2042 a, a Facsimile Control Unit (FCU)207 based on a control program stored in RAM, ROM or storage device 206.A part or all of the functions of the controller 205 may be implementedas an ASIC.

The storage device 206 is, for example, a magnetic-storage device suchas HDD, an optical storage device, a semiconductor memory device (flashmemory), and the like. The storage device 206 temporarily stores, forexample, an image data of a print job received from the image processingapparatus 1 via the communications I/F or an image data scanned by thescanner 203. Furthermore, the storage device stores, for example,various programs to be executed in the image forming apparatus 2 a (forexecuting a copy function, a print function, a scanning function, afacsimile function, a network filing function, etc.) and varioussettings.

In the print system including the image processing apparatus 1 and theimage forming apparatus described above, the image processing apparatus1 generates a print job using the printer driver 106 b, according to theuser operation input. The print job is sent to the image formingapparatus 2 a. Then the controller 205 of the image forming apparatus 2a analyzes the print job and executes the print processing according tothe print job on at least one of the printer 2041 a and printer 2042 a.The printer driver 106 b may send a print job to the image formingapparatus 2 a directly, or indirectly through a print server (not shown)on the network. In the case where the printer server is used, the printjob is stored in the print server temporarily. Then if the print serverreceives an instruction generated by the user operating input via theoperation panel 201 from the image forming apparatus 2 a or aninstruction from the image processing apparatus 1, the print job storedin the print server is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 2 a.

The image forming apparatus 2 a performs a print processing by using oneof the printer 2041 a and the printer 2042 a, or both of the printer2041 a and the printer 2042 a in order to form an image on a singlesheet.

A setting screen of the printer driver 106 b is displayed, for example,on the display 103 of the image forming apparatus 1.

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing the configuration of the image formingapparatus 2 a according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the image forming apparatus 2 a includes theprinter 2041 a and the printer 2042 a. The printer 2041 a forms imagesby an ink jet method by using a decolorable ink as the decolorablecolorant. The printer 2042 a forms images by a generalelectrophotographic method by using a toner as the non-decolorablecolorant.

The image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 2 a accordingto the present embodiment will be described. Then, the operation inwhich the printer 2042 a using a general toner forms images will beexplained. First, the image forming apparatus 2 a obtains a copy jobwhich is generated based on an image scanned by the scanner 203 or aprint job which is received from an external device. According to thecopy job or print job, a toner image formed on a photoconductor of theprinter 2042 a is transferred onto a belt surface of an intermediatetransfer belt B. The toner image transferred onto the intermediatetransfer belt B is transferred onto a sheet fed from a sheet cassette Cor a manual tray. The image transferred onto the sheet is fixed by afixing device H, and then the sheet is discharged through printer 2041 ato a stack tray T.

Next, the operation in which the printer 2041 a using the decolorableink as decolorable colorant toner forms images will be explain. Theimage forming apparatus 2 a obtains a copy job which is generated basedon an image scanned by the scanner 203 or a print job which is receivedfrom an external device. According to the copy job or print job, theprinter 2041 a forms an ink image on a sheet fed from the sheet cassetteC or the manual tray. The sheet having the ink image formed with thedecolorable colorant is discharged to the stack tray T.

The image forming apparatus 2 a according to the present embodiment mayform an image on a single sheet by using both the printer 2041 a and theprinter 2042 a. In such a case, the printer 2041 a forms an image on thesheet printed by the printer 2042 a, and then the sheet is discharged tothe stack tray T.

In addition, the printer 2041 a and the printer 2042 a are not limitedto the types described above. For example, the printer 2041 a couldprint by a general electrophotographic method and the printer 2042 couldprint by an ink jet method. Also both the printer 2041 a and the printer2042 a could print by an ink jet method.

FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the configuration of the image formingapparatus 2 b as another example of an image forming apparatus accordingto the first embodiment.

In FIG. 2A, the printer 2041 a and the printer 2042 a are located atdifferent sides of the fixing device H in a sheet conveying directionbut there may be other configurations. In case of using a multipletandem method, for example, as shown in FIG. 2B, both the printer 2041 aand the printer 2042 a could form an image on the intermediate transferbelt B. Of course, the number of print units distributed along theintermediate transfer belt B is not limited to four units, but it couldbe five units or more.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2B, the image forming apparatus 2 b has aprinter 2041 b which can form an image with a K (black) toner as thedecolorable colorant and a printer 2042 b which can form an image with aplurality of colors, e.g., Y (Yellow), M (Magenta), and C (Cyan). Thenumber of different colors may be less or more than in the example shownin FIG. 2B. Furthermore, the printing method is not limited to themultiple tandem method, but it could be a revolver method in which thecolor units are located along a rotating device.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3 to FIG. 6, a method for setting a printsetting according to the first embodiment will be explained.

FIG. 3 is an example of an operating screen 700 of printer driver 106 bexecuted by the controller 105 of the image processing apparatus 1. FIG.4 and FIG. 5 are examples of a setting screen for setting pages fordecolorable printing. The setting screen shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 isdisplayed on the display 103 when a page setting button 703 of FIG. 3 isselected.

The controller 105, for example, via the operating screen 700 shown inFIG. 3, receives a color setting of a print job to be generated, anddetermines if the received color setting indicates the decolorableprinting. Here, the operating screen 700 of the printer driver 106 b is,for example, displayed on the display 103 of the image processingapparatus 1.

The operating screen 700 according to present embodiment includes acolor setting menu 701. According to the selection made in the colorsetting menu 701, a color setting for printing is set. The color settingmenu 701, for example, is implemented as a pull-down menu (See Arrow Qshown in FIG. 4). According to present embodiment, the selections in thecolor setting menu 701 include auto color, full color, monochrome (black& white or grayscale), twin color, and decolorable.

The printer driver 106 b generates a print job based on the settingsselected in the operation screen 700 and an image data of an object tobe printed. The printer driver 106 b has setting buttons for number ofcopies, original sheet size, print sheet size, scale rate for printingan original on a sheet, sheet cassette, media type, sort, duplex printsetting, N-in-1 setting, stapling setting, punching setting, and thelike. The printer driver 106 b sends the generated print job to theimage forming apparatus 2 a. The image forming apparatus 2 a receivesthe print job and prints an image based on the image data and varioussettings included in the received print job.

If the print job has an auto color setting, the image forming apparatus2 a determines if the image data as a printing object includes colordata other than black. The image forming apparatus 2 a performs fullcolor printing if the image data includes color data other than black,and if not, performs monochrome printing. If the print job has fullcolor setting, the image forming apparatus 2 a performs full colorprinting by using plural colors (for example, Y, M, C, K) regardless ofcolor data of the image data. If the print job has monochrome setting,the image forming apparatus 2 a performs monochrome printing by usingonly black colorant. If the print job has twin color setting, the imageforming apparatus 2 a performs a printing by two colors (print color)selected on the operation screen 700 of the printer driver 106 b. If theprint job has decolorable setting, the image forming apparatus 2 aperforms the decolorable printing by using a decolorable colorant.

The image forming apparatus 2 a can form an image with pluraldecolorable colorants. For example, if the image forming apparatus 2 ahas a black decolorable colorant and a blue decolorable colorant, thecolor setting menu 701 displays decolorable (K) and decolorable (Blue)as color settings that are selectable.

If the decolorable setting is selected through the color setting menu701, the controller 105 receives as a first setting the settinginformation indicating the decolorable printing. FIG. 3 shows an imageof operation screen 700 in which the decolorable setting is selectedthrough the color setting menu 701.

A color select button 702 becomes selectable when the twin color settingis selected through the color setting menu 701. If the twin colorsetting is not selected through the color setting menu 701, the colorselect button 702 is displayed in gray (dash line in FIG. 3) and cannotbe selected. If the color select button 702 is selected, a color selectscreen in which the user can select colors is displayed.

A page setting button 703 is a button icon to be selected to set pagesfor decolorable printing. The pages for decolorable printing are set inorder to generate a print job including both pages for the decolorableprinting and for the non-decolorable printing.

The controller 105 determines if a page setting is set. For example, thecontroller 105 determines the page setting is not set when the pagesetting button 703 is not selected even through the decolorable settingis selected through the color setting menu 701. In such a case, thecontroller 105 sets all pages of a document for decolorable printing.

On the other hand, if the setting button 703 is selected, a settingscreen 800 or 800′, for example, shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, isdisplayed on the display 103. Each setting screen 800 and 800′ accordingto present embodiment shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 shows an example inwhich a single color of the decolorable colorant can be used. Forexample, a case in which single color of the decolorable colorant can beused includes a case in which the image forming apparatus 2 a includesonly one decolorable colorant cartridge like a toner or ink, or a casein which only one of decolorable colorant cartridges is available andthe other decolorable colorant cartridges become empty, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 4, the setting screen 800 includes a page settingsection 801. The page setting section 801 receives an input specifyingrange of pages (first page range) of a document to be printed with thedecolorable colorant. The setting screen 800 shows setting items whichincludes, for example, page addressing, odd page/recto, even page/versoand the like as the page setting section 801. The page setting section801 receives one of the setting items input. If the setting item of pageaddressing which specify range of pages by page number is selected, thepage numbers for the decolorable printing can be inputted in a text box704 corresponding to page addressing.

If range of pages is specified, for example, a description like 1-25 isinputted in the text box 704 and if each page is specified individually,a description like 1, 5, and 9 is inputted.

The controller 105 receives range of pages (first page range) as a pagesetting, which is printed with the decolorable colorant.

The controller 105 determines whether the color setting or print colorfor printing with the non-decolorable colorant is set. Here, if thecolor setting or print color for the non-decolorable printing is set,the controller 105 receives a second setting as setting information forthe non-decolorable printing. The second setting includes information ofthe color setting or print color. The second setting is applied to otherrange of pages (second page range) which is other than the range ofpages (first page range) selected to be printed with the decolorablecolorant.

Meanwhile, if the color setting or a print color for the non-decolorableprinting is not set by a user, the controller 105 receives a defaultsetting of the color setting or print color for the non-decolorableprinting as the second setting.

The controller 105 generates a print job including a print setting toform images of the first page range with the decolorable colorant basedon the first setting and to form images of the second page range withthe non-decolorable colorant based on the second setting.

Furthermore, if the odd page/recto is selected on the setting screen800, the controller 105 generates a print job for causing the imageforming apparatus 2 a to form images of odd pages with the decolorablecolorant and to form images of other pages which are not selected withthe non-decolorable colorant.

The setting screen shown in FIG. 4 has a non-decolorable color settingsection 705 which receives an input specifying a color setting for thenon-decolorable printing. The non-decolorable color setting section 705has a color setting menu 705 a and a color select button 705 b. Throughthe color setting menu 705 a, one of auto-color, full color, monochromeand twin-color may be selected. An explanation of these color settingsis as the same as provided above. If the color setting is selected inthe non-decolorable color setting section 705, an image of a page in thesecond page range is formed with non-decolorable colorant based on theselected color setting. The color select button 705 b is used in orderto select a color via a color palette and the like if twin color isselected through the color setting menu 705 a. The selected color isdisplayed adjacent to the color select button 705 b. If a color settingother than twin color is selected through the color setting menu 705 a,the color select button 705 b is displayed in gray color and cannot beselected.

As mentioned above, the pages which are inputted in the text box 704(FIG. 4) are subject to the decolorable printing and the other pageswhich are not designated in the text box 704 are subject to thenon-decolorable printing. However, the present embodiment is not limitedto this. For example, the pages which are inputted in the text box 704could be subject to the non-decolorable printing and the other pagescould be subjected to the decolorable printing. That is to say, thecontroller 105 may receive the first setting as setting informationindicating the non-decolorable printing, the first page range as thepage setting which are printed based on the first setting and the secondsetting as a setting information indicating the decolorable printingcorresponding to the second page range different from the first pagerange.

In addition, pages which are not printed can be removed from a print jobby requiring pages which are printed to be designated via a printprogram of various applications such as document creation software orspreadsheet software and the like. Moreover, by designating both pagesfor the decolorable printing and pages for the non-decolorable printing,the other pages which are not designated could be prevented fromprinting.

The printer driver 106 b of the present embodiment, by executing thesettings process mentioned above, can generate a single print jobincluding pages for the decolorable printing and pages for thenon-decolorable printing.

As mentioned above in FIG. 4, the example of the setting screen 800which does not have a function for selecting a color for the decolorableprinting is explained because one color for the decolorable printing isavailable in the image forming apparatus 2 a. However, it is not limitedto this. The setting screen 800 can includes a function to select acolor for the decolorable printing if the image forming apparatus 2 ahas cartridges corresponding to a plurality of different colors ofdecolorable colorant.

For example, as the cartridges corresponding to a plurality of differentcolors of decolorable colorant, the combination of the decolorablecartridges such as Black (K) and Blue (B), YMC, YMCK or CK and the likecan be implemented. The combination of the decolorable cartridges is notlimited to above-mentioned example and a variety of combinations can beimplemented. In addition, a decolorable cartridge with a different colorfrom Y, M, C, K or B could be used.

For example, a setting screen 800′ shown in FIG. 5 is available forselecting not only a print color of the non-decolorable printing butalso a print color of the decolorable printing. A color setting menu 707a in FIG. 5 includes selectable items for color setting, and isimplemented as a pull-down menu. The items for color setting of thecolor setting menu 707 a depend on a combination of the cartridgesimplemented in the image forming apparatus 2 a.

A color select button 707 b selects a print color to be used forprinting if twin color is selected through the color setting menu 707 a.If the print color is selected, the selected print color is displayed ina square area next to the color select button 707 b. If twin color isnot selected through the color setting menu 707 a, the color selectbutton 707 b is displayed in gray and cannot be selected. The colorsetting menu 705 a and the color select button 705 b functions in thesame way as explained above, and so the description thereof is omitted.In addition, if a checkbox 706 is selected, the non-decolorable printingis not performed. Namely, pages which are not set in the page settingsection 801 for decolorable printing are not printed.

FIG. 6 illustrates the setting screen of the printer driver 106 b, afterthe pages for the decolorable printing are set. The setting screen 700displayed by the printer driver 106 b includes a setting list display708 which displays print setting list when the page addressing of thedecolorable printing is set. The setting list display 708 notifies thatthe print setting of a single print job which includes pages for thedecolorable printing and pages for the non-decolorable printing, is set.For example, the setting list display 708 shown in FIG. 6 displaysinformation of a decolorable page designation: ON, decolorable color:monochrome and non-decolorable color: monochrome. Information displayedby the setting list display 708 can be a message or icon which indicatesthat the print setting of a single print job which includes pages forthe decolorable printing and pages for the non-decolorable printing, isset.

In addition, the setting list display 708 can display other printsettings such as a duplex print setting, a N-in-1 setting, a staplingsetting and the like. For example, FIG. 6 shows a state in which aduplex print setting is also set. And the setting screen of the printerdriver 106 b is not limited to the embodiment displayed on the display103 of the image processing apparatus 1. For example, the setting screenof the printer driver 106 b can be displayed on a display of otherexternal device which is different from the image processing apparatusin which the printer driver 106 b is installed.

If an OK key is selected, the print setting is finished. The printerdriver 106 b generates a print job according to the print setting andtransmits the print job to the image forming apparatus 2 a. As mentionedabove, if the print job which includes both page for the decolorableprinting and page for the non-decolorable printing is sent to the imageforming apparatus 2 a, the image forming apparatus 2 a prints based onthe print setting of the print job.

Herein, if the print job which includes pages of the decolorableprinting and pages for the non-decolorable printing has a setting ofduplex print, the image forming apparatus may form an image (firstimage) with the decolorable colorant on one side (for example, recto) ofa single sheet and form an image (second image) with the non-decolorablecolorant on the other side (for example, verso). In such a case, if adecoloring process in which an image (or color of image) formed with thedecolorable colorant is decolored, is performed, the image of thedecolorable colorant on the one side of the sheet is decolored but theimage of the non-decolorable colorant remains on the other side of thesheet. Therefore, the sheet will be non-reusable for at least duplexprint.

In view of the above, the image forming apparatus according to thepresent embodiment receives a print job which includes a plurality ofimages of a document and a layout setting to form the plurality ofimages on a single sheet. If the print job includes one of the firstsetting to form image as the first image with the decolorable colorantand the second setting to form image as the second image withnon-decolorable colorant, the image forming apparatus prints thereceived image according to the layout setting. On the other hand, ifthe print job includes the first setting and the second setting, theimage forming apparatus prints each of the first image and the secondimage on different sheets. In other words, the image forming apparatusforms the first image with the decolorable colorant on a first sheet andforms the second image with non-decolorable colorant on a second sheetdifferent from the first sheet.

According to present embodiment, the first setting which indicates thedecolorable printing to form image with the decolorable colorant,includes a decolorable color setting such as shown in FIG. 4 or theprint color of the decolorable printing shown in FIG. 5, and the like.In addition, the second setting which indicates the non-decolorableprinting to form image with the non-decolorable colorant, includes thecolor setting such as auto color, full color, monochrome, twin color andthe like, as shown in FIG. 4.

Next, a processing of the image forming apparatus according to presentembodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow ofan image forming processing by the image forming apparatus.

The image forming apparatus receives a print job. More specifically, thecommunications I/F 201 of the image forming apparatus 2 a receives theprint job which is sent from the image processing apparatus 1. Thecontroller 205 of the image forming apparatus 2 a receives at least oneof the first setting which indicates the decolorable printing to form animage as the first image with the decolorable colorant and the secondsetting which indicates the non-decolorable printing to form an image asthe second image with the non-decolorable colorant.

At ACT 102, the controller 205 determines whether the received print jobincludes the layout setting to form the plurality of images on a singlesheet. Here, the layout setting includes the duplex print setting toform images of a plurality of pages on a first side and a second side ofa single sheet and the N-in-1 setting to form images of a plurality ofpages (N pages) on one side of a single sheet.

If the print job includes the layout setting (ACT 102, Yes), thecontroller 205 determines whether the print job includes only one orboth of page image to be formed with the decolorable colorant and pageimage to be formed with the non-decolorable colorant. More specifically,the controller 205 determines whether the print setting of the print jobincludes only one or both of the first setting and the second setting(ACT 103).

If the print setting includes only one of the first setting and thesecond setting (ACT 103, Yes), the controller 205 executes a printprocessing based on the layout setting. The controller 205 performs oneof the decolorable printing and the non-decolorable printing (ACT 104).

If the print setting includes both the first setting and the secondsetting (ACT 103, No), the controller 205 causes the printer 204 toprint each of the first image by the decolorable colorant and the secondimage by the non-decolorable colorant on different sheets (ACT 105).

In addition, if the print job does not include the layout setting (ACT102, No), the controller 205 causes the printer 204 to print image basedon the print setting of the received print job (ACT 106). In this case,reusability of sheets is not affected.

Next, with reference to FIG. 8, the processing of the image formingapparatus which receives the duplex print setting as the layout settingwill be explained. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of an imageforming apparatus.

If the image forming apparatus receives a print job which has a printsetting including the duplex print setting and both the first setting toform image with the decolorable colorant and the second setting to formimage with non-decolorable colorant, the image forming apparatuscompares whether the print setting of an image to be form on a firstside of a sheet and the print setting of an image to be form on a secondside of the sheet are same. If the print settings of the two aredifferent, the image forming apparatus forms each of the first andsecond images on different sheets (layout change). On the other hand, ifthe print settings of the two images which are formed on the first sideand the second side of the sheet are same, for example, both printsettings are for only one of the decolorable printing andnon-decolorable printing, the image forming apparatus executes duplexprinting.

More specifically, the controller 205 compares a print setting of animage data of a first page of a print job with a print setting of animage data of a second page of the print job and determines whether theprint settings (colorant attribute) of the first page image and thesecond page image have the same attribute. Herein, the attribute meansthe decolorable colorant or non-decolorable colorant. For example, thesettings for the decolorable printing shown in FIG. 4 and the printcolor of the decolorable printing shown in FIG. 5 are decolorableattributes (first setting). On the other hand, the settings of the autocolor, the full color, the monochrome and the twin color shown in FIG. 4are non-decolorable attributes (second setting).

In FIG. 8, the image forming apparatus 2 a receives a print job (ACT201). Specifically, the communication I/F 201 of the image formingapparatus 2 a receives the print job sent from the image processingapparatus 1. And the controller 205 receives a print setting of pageimage included in the print job.

At ACT 202, the controller 205 determines whether the received print jobincludes the duplex print setting as the layout setting.

If the print job includes the duplex print setting (ACT 202, Yes), thecontroller 205 compares a print setting of an image data of a first pagewith a print setting of an image data of a second page (ACT 203). Thatis to say, if the print job has four pages to be formed, the controller205 compares image of page 1 with image of page 2 and compares image ofpage 3 with image of page 4.

At ACT 204, the controller 205 determines whether the print setting ofthe first page and the print setting of the second page are printsettings having the same colorant attribute. Specifically, for example,if the print setting for the first page indicates the decolorablecolorant and the print setting for the second page also indicates thedecolorable colorant, the controller 205 determines that the printsettings of the first page and the second page have the same colorantattribute.

If the controller 205 determines that the print settings of the firstpage image and the second page image have the same colorant attribute(ACT 204, Yes), the controller 205 executes print processing to printimage of the second page on one side of a sheet (ACT 205) and to printimage of the first page on the other side of the sheet (ACT 206). Thatis to say, if both print settings of the first page and the second pagesare one of the first setting to form image as the first image with thedecolorable colorant (the decolorable printing) and the second settingto form image as the second image with non-decolorable colorant (thenon-decolorable printing), the controller 205 prints the first image ofthe firs page and the second image of the second page on both sides of asheet based on the duplex print setting.

On the other hand, if the controller 205 determines that the printsettings of the first page image and the second page image havedifferent colorant attributes (ACT 204, No), the controller 205 printsprocessing to print image of the first page on a sheet (ACT 207) andthen prints image of the second page on another sheet (ACT 208). Namely,if the print setting of the first page is one of the first setting andthe second setting and the print setting of the second page is the otherof the first setting and the second setting, the controller 205 causesthe printer 204 to print the first page image and the second page imageon different sheets.

In addition, if the print job does not include the duplex print settingas the layout setting (ACT 202, No), the controller 205 causes theprinter 204 to print image based on the print setting of the receivedprint job (ACT 209).

According to the present embodiment, if the image processing apparatusgenerates a print job which includes the decolorable printing and thenon-decolorable printing, the image forming apparatus can prevent theimage of the decolorable colorant and the image of the non-decolorablecolorant from being formed on the same sheet. Therefore, it is able todecrease the number of sheets having an image formed by decolorableprinting that are not reusable.

Second Embodiment

The embodiment is another variation of the first embodiment shown inFIG. 8. In the following, the same configuration as the above-describedfirst embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals anddescription thereof will be omitted. Hardware configuration of thepresent embodiment can be same configuration as the first embodiment.

The image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment comparesthe images of two pages. However in the present embodiment, if it isdetermined that the print settings of the first page and the second pagehave different attributes as a result of comparison, the image formingapparatus prints the first page and determines whether the print settingof the second page and the print setting of the third page have the sameattribute.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of an image forming by the imageforming apparatus according to a second embodiment. At ACT 301, theimage forming apparatus 2 a receives a print job. Specifically, thecommunication I/F 201 of the image forming apparatus 2 a receives theprint job sent from the image processing apparatus 1. And the controller205 receives a print setting of page image included in the print job.

At ACT 302, the controller 205 determines whether the received print jobincludes the duplex print setting as the layout setting.

If the print job includes the duplex print setting (ACT 302, Yes), thecontroller 205 compares a print setting of an image data of a first pagewith a print setting of an image data of a second page (ACT 303).

At ACT 304, the controller 205 determines whether the print setting ofthe first page and the print setting of the second page are the printsettings having the same colorant attribute. Specifically, for example,if the print setting for the first page indicates the decolorablecolorant and the print setting for the second page also indicates thedecolorable colorant, the controller 205 determines that the printsettings of the first page and the second page have the same colorantattribute.

If the controller 205 determines that the print settings of the firstpage image and the second page image have the same colorant attribute(ACT 304, Yes), the controller 205 executes print processing to printimage of the second page on one side of a sheet (ACT 305) and to printimage of the first page on the other side of the sheet (ACT 306).

On the other hand, if the controller 205 determines that the printsettings of the first page and the second page have different colorantattributes (ACT 304, No), the controller 205 prints processing to printimage of the first page on a sheet (ACT 307) and then goes back to ACT304. When the processing goes back to ACT 303 through ACT 307 after ACT303 and 304, the print setting of the second page and a print setting ofa third page will be compared at ACT 307.

Therefore, if the print job has four pages to be formed, the controller205 compares the print setting of page 1 with the print setting of page2. If the print settings of page 1 and page 2 have the same attribute,the controller 205 compares the print setting of page 3 with the printsetting of page 4. On the other hand, if the print settings of page 1and page 2 have different attributes, the controller 205 prints image ofpage 1 on a sheet and then compares the printing setting of page 2 withthe printing setting of page 3. If the print settings of page 2 and page3 have the same attribute, the controller 205 prints image of page 2 andpage 3 on both sides of another sheet. Then the controller 205 causesthe printer 204 to print the image of page 4 on the next sheet sincethere is no page for comparison.

On the other hand, if the print settings of page 2 and page 3 havedifferent attributes, the controller 205 prints the image of page 2 onanother sheet and then compares the print setting of page 3 with theprint setting of page 4.

In general, the controller 205 compares image of page X (X is integernumber) of a print job with image of page X+1. If the print setting ofpage X is one of the first setting which indicates the decolorableprinting and the second setting which indicates the non-decolorableprinting, and the print setting of the page X+1 is the other of thefirst setting and the second setting, the controller 205 causes theprinter 204 to print the X page image and the X+1 page image ondifferent sheets.

In addition, if the print job does not includes the duplex print settingas the layout setting (ACT 302, No), the controller 205 causes theprinter 204 to print image based on the print setting of the receivedprint job (ACT 308).

Third Embodiment

Third embodiment is another variation of the first embodiment. FIG. 10is a flowchart showing the flow of an image forming by the image formingapparatus which receives a print job including the N-in-1 setting as thelayout setting. In the following, the same configuration as theabove-described first embodiment will be denoted by the same referencenumerals and description thereof will be omitted. Hardware configurationof the present embodiment can be same configuration of theabove-mentioned embodiments.

Herein, if the print job which includes pages of the decolorableprinting and pages for the non-decolorable printing has a N-in-1setting, the image forming apparatus may form an image with thedecolorable colorant an image with the non-decolorable colorant on sameside of a sheet. In such a case, the sheet will be non-reusable becauseof the presence of a non-decolorable image.

In view of the above, if the controller 205 receives a print job whichincludes the N-in-1 setting (ACT 401), the controller 205 determineswhether print settings of all pages between page 1 to page N includedifferent colorant attributes (ACT 402). In other words, the controller205 determines whether the print settings of all pages between page 1and page N includes both of the first setting and the second setting.For example, if the print setting for the first page indicates thedecolorable colorant and the print setting for the second page indicatesthe non-decolorable colorant, the controller 205 determines that theprint settings of the first page and the second page have differentcolorant attributes.

If the print settings of pages between page 1 and page N have the samecolorant attribute (ACT 402, No), the controller 205 executes the N-in-1printing according to the print setting of the print job (ACT 407).Namely, if the print settings of all pages between page 1 and page N areone of the first setting and the second setting, the controller 205causes the printer 204 to form images of page 1 to page N on the sameside of a sheet based on the N-in-1 setting.

On the other hand, if the print settings of pages between page 1 andpage N have different colorant attributes (ACT 402, Yes), the controller205 prints images of page 1 and each of the pages consecutivelyfollowing page 1 so long as they have the same colorant attribute aspage 1, on the same side of a sheet (ACT 403). Specifically, if theprint settings of pages between page 1 and page N includes both thefirst setting and the second setting, the controller 205 causes theprinter 204 to form images of page 1 and each of the pages consecutivelyfollowing page 1 that have the same colorant attribute as page 1.

At ACT 404, the controller 205 determines whether the print settings ofall remaining pages have different colorant attributes.

If the print settings of the remaining pages have different colorantattributes (ACT 404, Yes), the controller 205 prints the pageconsecutively following the last page printed and each of the subsequent(consecutively following) pages that have the same colorant attribute,on the same side of another sheet (ACT 406).

If the print settings of the remaining pages have the same colorantattribute (ACT 404, No), the controller 205 prints the remaining pages(ACT 405) on the same side of another sheet.

As described above, if a print job which includes the N-in-1 setting andthe print setting including both the decolorable printing and thenon-decolorable printing is received, the image forming apparatusdetermines whether the print setting of each page of a series of N pageshave the same colorant attribute. If all of the print settings of the Npages have the same colorant attribute, the image forming apparatusprints according to the print job. On the other hand, if the printsettings of the N pages include different colorant attributes, forexample, if the colorant attribute of Page N−1 of N pages is differentfrom that of the other pages of N pages, the image forming apparatusprints Page 1 to Page N−2 on the same side of a sheet based on theN-in-1 setting as the layout setting, prints Page N−1 on another sheet,and prints Page N on yet another sheet.

Furthermore, if the colorant attribute of some consecutive pages aredifferent, for example, if the print settings of Page N−2 and Page N−1have a colorant attribute different from that of the other pages of Npages, the image forming apparatus prints Page 1 to Page N−3 on the sameside of a sheet in the layout of the N-in-1, prints Page N−2 and PageN−1 on the same side of another sheet in the layout of the N-in-1, andprints Page N on yet another sheet.

The image forming apparatus according to present embodiment forms aplurality of images of consecutive pages of which the print settingshave the same colorant attribute. Here, if page image having a differentcolorant attribute is formed on another sheet, it may be selectedappropriately whether the page image is printed on another sheet in alayout of N-in-1 or other layout adjusted to a maximum sizecorresponding to the sheet size.

As described above, if the print setting of the print job which includesthe N-in-1 setting, is one of the first setting and the second setting,the controller 205 print the images of N pages on same side of a sheet.However, if the print setting of the print job which includes the N-in-1setting includes both the first setting and the second setting, thecontroller 205 prints each of the first image formed with thedecolorable colorant and the second image formed with thenon-decolorable colorant on different sheets.

Fourth Embodiment

Fourth embodiment is another variation of the third embodiment. In thefollowing, the same configuration as the above-described firstembodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals anddescription thereof will be omitted. Hardware configuration of thepresent embodiment can be same configuration of the above-mentionedembodiments.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of an image forming by the imageforming apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the presentembodiment, if a print setting of Page N′ of N pages (N′<N) is differentfrom a print setting of the other pages of N pages, the image formingapparatus prints Page 1 to Page N′−1 on the same side of a sheet, andthen determines whether the print setting of N pages which is betweenPage N′ and Page N′+N−1 are same.

If the controller 205 receives a print job which includes the N-in-1setting (ACT 501), the controller 205 determines whether print settingsof pages between page 1 to page N have different colorant attributes(ACT 502). For example, if the print setting for first page indicatesthe decolorable colorant and the print setting for second page indicatesthe non-decolorable colorant, the controller 205 determines that theprint settings of the first page and the second page have differentcolorant attribute.

If the print settings of pages between page 1 and page N have the samecolorant attribute (ACT 502, No), the controller 205 executes the N-in-1printing according to the print setting of the print job (ACT 508).

On the other hand, if the print settings of pages between page 1 andpage N have different colorant attributes (ACT 502, Yes), the controller205 prints images of page 1 and each of the pages consecutivelyfollowing page 1 that have the same colorant attribute as page 1, on thesame side of a sheet (ACT 503).

Next, at ACT 504, the controller 205 determines whether the remainingpages of the print job are more than or equal to N pages. If theremaining pages of the print job are more than or equal to N pages (ACT504, Yes), the processing executed by the controller 205 goes back toACT 502.

On the other hand, if the remaining pages of the print job are less thanN pages (ACT 504, No), the controller 205 determines whether the printsettings of the remaining pages of the print job have different colorantattributes (ACT 505).

If the remaining pages of the print job have different colorantattributes (ACT 505, Yes), the controller 205 prints the pageconsecutively following the last page printed and each of the subsequent(consecutively following) pages that have the same colorant attribute onthe same side of another sheet (ACT 507).

If the print settings of the remaining pages have the same colorantattribute (ACT 505, No), the controller 205 prints the remaining pageson the same side of another sheet according to the print setting (ACT506).

According to the present embodiment, the same effect such as the effectsof the first embodiment to the third embodiment is achieved.

Fifth Embodiment

Fifth embodiment is another variation of the third embodiment and fourthembodiment. In the following, the same configuration as theabove-described first embodiment will be denoted by the same referencenumerals and description thereof will be omitted. Hardware configurationof the present embodiment can be same configuration of theabove-mentioned embodiments.

As described above, if a print job which includes the N-in-1 setting andthe print setting including both the decolorable printing and thenon-decolorable printing is received, the image forming apparatus printspages which have different colorant attributes on different sheets. Ifvalue of N is large (for example, N equal 16, etc.) and there existssome pages of which the colorant attribute is different from that of acontiguous page, excessive sheets will be used because of forming imageson different sheets.

With respect to this, the image forming apparatus according to presentembodiment prevents from using excessive sheets.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of an image forming by the imageforming apparatus according to the present embodiment. At ACT 601, theimage forming apparatus 2 a receives a print job. The controller 205receives a print setting of the print job.

At ACT 602, the controller 205 determines whether the print job includesboth the first setting for the decolorable printing and the secondsetting for the non-decolorable printing. At ACT 603, the controller 205determines whether the print job includes a layout setting of the N-in-1setting.

If the print job includes both the first setting and the second setting(ACT 602, Yes) and N-in-1 setting as the layout setting (ACT 603, Yes),the controller 205 determines whether value on N is less than or equalto a predetermined value (ACT 604).

If N is less than or equal to the predetermined value, for example N 8(ACT 604, Yes), the controller 205 executes print processing (layoutchange) according to the third embodiment or the fourth embodiment (ACT605).

On the other hand, if N is more than the predetermined value (ACT 604,No), the controller 205, does not execute the layout change processingof ACT 605, and executes print processing according to the print settingof the print job (ACT 606). The print processing of image formingapparatus is not limited to the processing like ACT 606. For example,the image forming apparatus forms images of all pages with one of thedecolorable colorant and non-decolorable colorant. The setting ofcolorant to be used for printing the all pages could be selected by auser or could be set in an administrative setting of the image formingapparatus in advance.

In addition, if the print job includes only one of the first setting andthe second setting (ACT 602, No) or does not include the N-in-1 setting(ACT 603, No), the controller 205 prints according to the print setting(ACT 606).

Sixth Embodiment

According to the above embodiment, if the print job includes the layoutsetting to form a plurality of page images on a single sheet andincludes both the first setting to form an image as the first image withthe decolorable colorant and the second setting to form an image as thesecond image with the non-decolorable colorant, the image formingapparatus prints the first image and the second image on different sheetby changing a layout.

Here, if the print processing is executed with the layout change whichis different from the layout setting of the print job, it may confuse auser.

With respect to this, according to the present embodiment, the imageforming apparatus inquires a user whether the layout change could beaccepted if the processing of changing a layout is executed.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of an image forming by the imageforming apparatus, according to a sixth embodiment. The image formingapparatus 2 a receives a print job (ACT 701). Specifically, thecommunications I/F 201 receives a print job which is sent from the imageprocessing apparatus 1. The controller 205 of the image formingapparatus 2 a receives at least one of the first setting which indicatesthe decolorable printing to form image as the first image with thedecolorable colorant and the second setting which indicates thenon-decolorable printing to form image as the second image with thenon-decolorable colorant.

AT ACT 702, the controller 205 determines whether a processing of layoutchange is necessary. The controller 205 determines whether theprocessing of layout change is necessary as with the processing of thefirst embodiment to the fifth embodiment. The controller 205 determineswhether the print job includes an image for decolorable printing and animage for non-decolorable printing within pages to be formed on samesheet.

If the controller 205 determines that the processing of layout change isnecessary (ACT 702, Yes), the controller 205 inquires a user whether thelayout change could be accepted, for example, by displaying an inquiryscreen on the display 202 (ACT 703).

If the controller receives a signal which indicates that layout changeis accepted by the user through the operation key 202 b of the operatingpanel 202 (ACT 704, Yes), the controller 205 prints images by executingthe processing of the layout change as described in the first embodimentto the fifth embodiment (ACT 705). That is, the controller 205 forms thefirst image and the second image on different sheet.

On the other side, if the controller receives a signal which indicatesthat the layout change is not accepted by the user (ACT 704, No), thecontroller 205 executes print processing according to the layout settingof the print job (ACT 706).

If it is determined that the layout change is not necessary (ACT 702,No), the controller 205 executes print processing according to the printsetting of the print job (ACT 707).

As described above, if the print job includes the layout setting andincludes both the first setting and the second setting, the controller205 sends a display data to display a inquiry screen for inquiring auser whether to form the first image and the second image on differentsheet or to form the first image and the second image according to thelayout setting. Then the controller 205 causes the printer 204 to printimages based on the user response received via the operation panel 202.

According to the present embodiment, since the image forming apparatusinquires a user whether the layout change could be accepted beforechanging the layout designated in the print job, it can preventconfusion of the user.

Furthermore, after forming the first image and the second image on thedifferent sheets by changing the layout designated in the print job, thecontroller can be configured to form a message, on the sheets, whichindicates that the images were printed by changing the designatedlayout. Hereby, a user can recognize that the layout is changed simplyby looking at printed sheets.

Seventh Embodiment

In the present embodiment, the processing of the image forming apparatuswhich receives a print job including both the N-in-1 setting and theduplex printing setting as the layout setting will be described. Seventhembodiment is another variation of the above-mentioned embodiments.

The image forming apparatus according to present embodiment controlsprint processing by page of a sheet to be printed if the print jobincludes both the N-in-1 setting and the duplex printing setting. Morespecifically, if the print job which includes the first image ofdecolorable printing and the second image of non-decolorable printing,includes both the N-in-1 setting and the duplex printing setting, theimage forming apparatus forms the first image and the second image ondifferent pages. For example, if the print setting of Page N−1 of adocument having N pages is different from the print setting of the otherpages, the image forming apparatus forms images of Page 1 to Page N−2 onfirst side of a sheet according to the N-in-1 layout setting, formsimage of Page N−1 on second side of the sheet and forms image of Page Non another sheet. The processing mentioned above would fall within thescope of the present embodiment.

According to present embodiment, for example, the image formingapparatus comprises an interface that receives a print job whichincludes at least one of a first setting to form image as a first imagewith a decolorable colorant and a second setting to form image as asecond image with a non-decolorable colorant, a printer that forms animage on a sheet and a controller configured to determine whether theprint job includes at least one of a first layout setting to form pluralimages on same side of a sheet and a second layout setting to formimages on both sides of a sheet. The controller is configured to executea print processing to form images of print job according to the layoutsetting if the print job includes both the first layout setting and thesecond layout setting and only one of the first setting and the secondsetting and execute a print processing to form the first image and thesecond image on different sheets if the print job includes both thefirst layout setting and the second layout setting and both of the firstsetting and the second setting.

Specifically, if the print job includes the first layout setting and thesecond layout setting and if the print setting of the pages to be formedon same side of a sheet based on the first layout setting includes boththe first setting and the second setting, the controller of the imageforming apparatus causes the printer to form the first and second imageson different sides of one sheet (top and bottom sides of one sheet) ortwo sheets (bottom side of one sheet and top side of another sheet).

Furthermore, if the print settings of predetermined number of pages tobe formed on same side of a sheet based on the first layout settinginclude the first setting and the second setting and the predeterminednumber is more than a defined value, the controller causes the printerto form the predetermined number of pages with one of the decolorablecolorant and the non-decolorable colorant on the same side of the sheetaccording to the first layout setting.

According to the present embodiment, if the print job includes the firstpage of decolorable printing and the second page of non-decolorableprinting, the image forming apparatus can prevent the forming of thefirst page and the second page on the same side of a sheet. Therefore,at least one side of the sheet which is formed with the decolorablecolorant is available after decolorable processing.

Eighth Embodiment

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of an image forming by the imageforming apparatus according to an eighth embodiment.

In the above-mentioned embodiments of the first to seventh, if the imageforming apparatus receives a print job which includes a page for thedecolorable printing and a page for the non-decolorable printing, theimage forming apparatus does not form the first image which is formedwith the decolorable colorant with the second image which is formed withthe non-decolorable colorant on both sides of the same sheet or the sameside of one sheet.

However, some user may hesitate to the layout change mentioned above.So, the image forming apparatus according to present embodiment formsall images with one of the decolorable colorant and the non-decolorablecolorant, if a print job includes both decolorable printing setting andnon-decolorable printing setting and at least one of the duplex printsetting and the N-in-1 setting.

The image forming apparatus 2 a receives a print job (ACT 801).Specifically, the communications I/F 201 receives a print job which issent from the image processing apparatus 1. The controller 205 of theimage forming apparatus 2 a receives at least one of the first settingwhich indicates the decolorable printing to form image as the firstimage with the decolorable colorant and the second setting whichindicates the non-decolorable printing to form all image as the secondimage with the non-decolorable colorant.

At ACT 802, the controller 205 determines whether the print job includesboth the first setting for the decolorable printing and the secondsetting for the non-decolorable printing. At ACT 803, the controller 205determines whether the print job includes the layout setting to form theplurality of images on a single sheet. The layout setting may be theduplex print setting or the N-in-1 setting.

If the print job includes both the first setting and the second setting(ACT 802, Yes) and includes the layout setting (ACT 803, Yes), thecontroller 205 causes the printer 204 to form all images of the printjob with one of the decolorable colorant and the non-decolorablecolorant (ACT 804). The setting of the colorant to be used to formimages can be set via the operation panel 202 of the image formingapparatus 2 a and the like, in advance.

Furthermore, a user may set whether to execute the processing of thelayout change, as the first embodiment to second embodiment, via theoperation panel 202 of the image forming apparatus 2 a and the like, inadvance.

If the print job includes one of the first setting and the secondsetting (ACT 802, No), or if the print job includes no the layoutsetting (ACT 803, No), the controller 205 executes print processingaccording to the print setting of the print job (ACT 805).

According to present embodiment, the image forming apparatus can retainthe layout setting which is designated by a user and can prevent fromforming the first page and the second page on a sheet.

The processing of the controller 205 at ACT 803 is not limited to this.For example, the controller 205 may execute the processing of ACT 804 ifthe print job includes both the duplex print setting and the N-in-1setting at ACT 803. On the other hand, if the print job includes one ofthe duplex print setting and the N-in-1 setting, the controller 205control to print as described in the first embodiment to the fifthembodiment.

The above-mentioned processing of the image forming apparatus isimplemented when the processer 205 a reads and executes image formingprograms stored in the memory 205 b and the like.

In addition, a program that causes a computer that is implemented aspart of an image forming apparatus to execute the above-describedoperations can be provided as an image forming program. Although thepresent embodiment was illustrated such that the program for realizingthe functions implementing the invention is recorded in advance in astorage region provided in the apparatus, the invention is not limitedto this. A similar program may be downloaded to the apparatus from anetwork, or a similar program stored in a computer-readable recordingmedium can be installed in the apparatus. The recording medium may be inany form that can store a program and can be read by a computer.Specifically, such recording media may include, for example, internalstorage devices arranged within a computer such as ROM and RAM, portablestorage media such as CD-ROM, flexible disk, DVD disk, magneto-opticaldisk and IC card, database which holds computer programs, anothercomputer and its database, and a transmission medium on a network line.The functions that can be acquired in advance by installation anddownloading may be realized in cooperation with the OS (operatingsystem) in the apparatus.

A part or an entirety of the program may be an execution module that isdynamically generated.

The invention can be embodied in a variety of other forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or major features thereof. Therefore, theembodiments described above are exemplary only in all respects, and arenot intended to limit the scope of the invention. The scope of theinvention should be defined by the accompanying claims and should not berestricted to the main body of the specification. Furthermore, allchanges, various improvements, substitutions and alterations made withinthe equivalent range of the claims would fall within the scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a printerthat forms an image on a sheet; an interface through which print datawhich includes at least one of a first setting and a second setting, isreceived, the first setting being a setting to form a first image with adecolorable colorant and the second setting being a setting to form asecond image with a non-decolorable colorant; and a controllerconfigured to determine whether the received print data includes alayout setting to form a plurality of images on a sheet, if the printdata includes the layout setting and only one of the first setting andthe second setting, cause the printer to form the images with acorresponding one of the decolorable colorant and the non-decolorablecolorant on the sheet based on the layout setting, and if the print dataincludes the layout setting and both the first setting and the secondsetting, cause the printer to form each of the first image and thesecond image on different sheets.
 2. The image forming apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the controller determines whether printsettings of images to be formed on the sheet according to the layoutsetting include both the first setting and the second setting, and ifthe print settings include the first setting and the second setting,causes the printer to form each of the first image and the second imageon different sheets.
 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim2, wherein the layout setting is a duplex print setting to form image ofa first page of the print data on one side of a sheet and to form imageof a second page of the print data on the other side of the sheet, andthe controller is configured to if the print settings of the first pageand second page include only one of the first setting and the secondsetting, cause the printer to form images of the first page and thesecond page on both sides of the sheet, and if the print settings of thefirst page and the second page include both the first setting and thesecond setting, cause the printer to form images of the first page andthe second page on the different sheets.
 4. The image forming apparatusaccording to claim 3, wherein if the print settings of the first pageand the second page include both the first setting and the secondsetting, the controller causes the printer to form image of the firstpage on a sheet and determines whether the print settings of the secondpage and a third page of the print data include both the first settingand the second setting.
 5. The image forming apparatus according toclaim 2, wherein the layout setting is a N-in-1 setting to form imagesof N pages in one side of a sheet, and the controller is configured toif the print settings of the N pages include only one of the firstsetting and the second setting, cause the printer to form images of theN pages on one side of the sheet, and if the print settings of the Npages include both the first setting and the second setting, cause theprinter to form the first image and the second image on the differentsheets.
 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein ifthe print settings of the N pages include the first setting and thesecond setting, the controller causes the printer to form images of page1 and each of the pages consecutively following page 1 having a colorantattribute that is the same as that of page 1, on the same side of thesheet.
 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, furthercomprising: a user interface that receives a user input which isinputted via an operation device, wherein, if the print data includesthe layout setting and both the first setting and the second setting,the controller is configured to send a display data to the operationdevice, the display data being data to display an inquiry screen forinquiring whether to form the first image and the second image ondifferent sheets or to form the first image and the second imageaccording to the layout setting.
 8. An image forming method, comprising:receiving print data which includes at least one of a first setting anda second setting, the first setting being a setting to form a firstimage with a decolorable colorant and the second setting being a settingto form a second image with a non-decolorable colorant; and determiningwhether the received print data includes a layout setting to form aplurality of images on a sheet; forming, by a printer, the images withonly one of the decolorable colorant and the non-decolorable colorant onthe sheet based on the layout setting if the print data includes thelayout setting and only one of the first setting and the second setting;and forming, by the printer, each of the first image and the secondimage on different sheets if the print data includes the layout settingand both the first setting and the second setting.
 9. The image formingmethod according to claim 8, wherein the step of determining includesdetermining whether print settings of images to be formed on the sheetaccording to the layout setting include the first setting and the secondsetting.
 10. The image forming method according to claim 9, wherein thelayout setting is a duplex print setting to form image of a first pageof the print data on one side of a sheet and to form image of a secondpage of the print data on the other side of the sheet, and the steps offorming images include: forming images of the first page and the secondpage on both sides of the sheet if the print settings of the first pageand second page include only one of the first setting and the secondsetting, and forming images of the first page and the second page on thedifferent sheets if the print settings of the first page and the secondpage include both the first setting and the second setting.
 11. Theimage forming method according to claim 10, wherein the step of theforming images on the different sheets includes forming image of thefirst page on a sheet if the print settings of the first page and thesecond page include both the first setting and the second setting, andfurther comprising: determining whether the print settings of the secondpage and a third page include both the first setting and the secondsetting.
 12. The image forming method according to claim 9, wherein thelayout setting is a N-in-1 setting to form images of N pages in one sideof a sheet, and the steps of forming images include: forming images ofthe N pages on one side of the sheet if the print settings of the Npages include one of the first setting and the second setting, andforming the first image and the second image on the different sheets ifthe print settings of the N pages include both the first setting and thesecond setting.
 13. The image forming method according to claim 12,wherein the step of forming images on the different sheets includes thefirst setting and the second setting includes forming images of page 1and each of the pages consecutively following page 1 having a colorantattribute that is the same as that of page 1, on same side of the sheetif the print settings of the N pages includes both the first setting andthe second setting.
 14. An image forming system, comprising: aninterface through which print data which includes at least one of afirst setting and a second setting, is received, the first setting beinga setting to form a first image with a decolorable colorant and thesecond setting being a setting to form a second image with anon-decolorable colorant; a controller that determines whether thereceived print data includes a layout setting to form a plurality ofimages on a sheet; and a printer configured to if the print dataincludes the layout setting and only one of the first setting and thesecond setting, form the images with a corresponding one of thedecolorable colorant and the non-decolorable colorant on the sheet basedon the layout setting, and if the print data includes the layout settingand both the first setting and the second setting, form each of thefirst image and the second image on different sheets.
 15. The imageforming system according to claim 14, wherein the controller determineswhether print settings of images to be formed on the sheet according tothe layout setting include both the first setting and the secondsetting, and the printer forms each of the first image and the secondimage on different sheets if the print settings include both the firstsetting and the second setting.
 16. The image forming system accordingto claim 15, wherein the layout setting is a duplex print setting toform image of a first page of the print data on one side of a sheet andto form image of a second page of the print data on the other side ofthe sheet, and the printer is configured to if the print settings of thefirst page and second page include only one of the first setting and thesecond setting, form images of the first page and the second page onboth sides of the sheet, and if the print settings of the first page andthe second page include both the first setting and the second setting,form images of the first page and the second page on the differentsheets.
 17. The image forming system according to claim 16, wherein ifthe print settings of the first page and the second page include boththe first setting and the second setting, the printer forms the image ofthe first page on a sheet, and the controller determines whether theprint settings of the second page and a third page of the print datainclude both the first setting and the second setting.
 18. The imageforming system according to claim 15, wherein the layout setting is aN-in-1 setting to form images of N pages in one side of a sheet, and theprinter is configured to if the print settings of the N pages includeonly one of the first setting and the second setting, form images of theN pages on one side of the sheet, and if the print settings of the Npages include both the first setting and the second setting, form thefirst image and the second image on the different sheets.
 19. The imageforming system according to claim 18, wherein if the print settings ofthe N pages include the first setting and the second setting, theprinter forms images of page 1 and each of the pages consecutivelyfollowing page 1 having a colorant attribute that is the same as that ofpage 1, on the same side of the sheet.
 20. The image forming systemaccording to claim 15, further comprising: a user interface thatreceives a user input which is inputted via an operation device,wherein, if the print data includes the layout setting and both of thefirst setting and the second setting, the controller is configured tosend a display data to the operation device, the display data being datato display an inquiry screen for inquiring whether to form the firstimage and the second image on different sheets or to form the firstimage and the second image according to the layout setting.